You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

Thought I would share a great find, I don't know if he has been mentioned yet.

I tried contacting some of the recommended shops and Max sponsors in this thread and they were all busy/ did not return call or email or maybe no one is too keen on working on E30's

So I decided to take a chance and try someone random. His shop goes by BMWizard, name is Matt, 2006 highway 7 West, Unit 5. 6478311981. Honest and knowledgeable guy. His prices are very very reasonable and used quality parts. Did the control arm bushings and serpentine belt on my brothers 330 e46 and a whole bunch of things on my E30. Highly recommend.

Oh i just remembered, he is open late so it works for those who finish work after 5.

So I am also looking for someone in that area as I live and work there, for the times when my mechanic is going through a very busy season. The later he stays the better as I tend to stay overtime at work!

I will give this guy a try as I simply want my new rims installed on my cars. I think my current rims are the reason why my E39 shimmies but I am not 100% sure as I have not been able to get it checked yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by poleposition

Thought I would share a great find, I don't know if he has been mentioned yet.

I tried contacting some of the recommended shops and Max sponsors in this thread and they were all busy/ did not return call or email or maybe no one is too keen on working on E30's

So I decided to take a chance and try someone random. His shop goes by BMWizard, name is Matt, 2006 highway 7 West, Unit 5. 6478311981. Honest and knowledgeable guy. His prices are very very reasonable and used quality parts. Did the control arm bushings and serpentine belt on my brothers 330 e46 and a whole bunch of things on my E30. Highly recommend.

Oh i just remembered, he is open late so it works for those who finish work after 5.

Glad you found this post useful. I actually brought my car in recently for a oil change and a annoying noise whenever I went over big speed bumps and occasionally when I made a turn from a stopped position. Sounded like I was bottoming out and scraping mud flaps (except that I don't have any) or grinding something. I did a bit of research in forums and it seemed like the culprit were sway bar bushings. Apparently very common in the E90 3-series. I originally figured I'd just have them changed.

Darren checked it out to ensure it was still safe to drive. Instead of replacing them, he suggested a more cost effective approach would be to grease them well and see if the noise went away.

Needless to say, after he greased them, the first thing I did was hit a few speed bumps at various speeds to bounce the car and check if the noise persisted. Glad to say the noise is gone for now. If the noise comes back I'll have him change the sway bar bushings to Polyurethane versus the stock rubber BMW OEM ones that are there now.

Another satisfied repeat customer !

Update: So after Darren at Alphawerx (now DC Motorwerx http://www.alphawerxauto.ca/ ) greased up my swaybar bushings I drove through the winter and didn't hear any scrapping/grinding until it was really really cold out but I did occasionally hear it when I made a turn. Guess when it's really cold out the grease is not as effective. Anyways I took it in a few days after spring started for a Oil/filter and had him replace all four of the swaybar bushings and grease them up. Today I am happy to say NO GRINDING NOISE even when I go over speed bumps. Nor do I hear it when I make turns.

Brought my e93 n54 to Darren at DC motorworks/alphawerx on Bayview and John. Terrific guy, diagnosed and fixed my leaking auto transmission in a morning with great prices to boot. Highly recommended especially for those in the Thornhill area who aren't keen on heading out to see RMP.

2009 328xi AT-Would not go into reverse. Took it DC Motorwerx / Aphawerx to Darren. He ran diagnostics, did some research, told me what the problem was, took it apart within 20 mins and actually showed me what the problem was and approx what was required to repair it. I was thoroughly impressed ! So with 100,000 km on the car, it was time to change the the tranny fluid anyways on top of fixing the broken piece. Thank goodness I didn't need a new tranny. The damn thing drives great now ! Maybe I won't sell it. Thank you Darren, you ROCK !

In recent months I've been to numerous locations across Canada in my 2005 325i (190,000 kms) and wish to give my feedback on numerous repair shops in different cities:

1. Vancouver/Burnaby

a. Brian Jessel always treated me well and addressed the rust issue on the fender by getting the appropriate authorizations from BMW. The initial fender work carried out by a body shop recommended by them was not satisfactorily done and the rust returned in 5 months. Since I was returning to Ontario, the work was not redone, however permission was obtained from BMW to address the issue in a more elaborate form once I retuned to Ontario. See Guelph/Kitchener below about how Grand River BMW addressed the matter. Brian Jessel carried other obvious repairs satisfactorily including warranty repairs that arose within the 2 year period after previous parts replacements in Ottawa (example front control arm bushings, idler puller etc). I will say BMW is pretty good with meeting its obligation with respect to warranty repairs. Jessel conducted the work without any hassles and I give credit to them, but I have to say no one paid greater attention to my car's numerous issues than A & Y automotive on Gilley Street (Burnaby).

b. A & Y Automotive on Gilley - I give Yashin the distinction of identifying numerous problems (including a tricky and difficult oil leak to detect - dipstick (?) valve at bottom) which Brian Jessel was not able to detect! The shop also recommended that I replace the transmission oil and really it was like crude! The transmission, I think, has an extra life after Yashins work - normally something BMW does not recommend. However, secretly, I have found BMW shops recommending transmission oil replacement when the car has as much mileage as mine. Other issues resolved/recommended by Yashin included replacing front stabilizer links, brakes, differential oil - he always insists on using good parts. Excellent diagnosis and repairs.

2. GUELPH/KITCHENER

a. Grand River BMW - great service manager in Elie! First, he got the permission from BMW to proceed with the rust repair mentioned above. A bodyshop around the corner (Mitek) recommended a protocol (quite expensive!) to be followed, BMW approved it and the work has been carried out to my satisfaction. The dealership also (hopefully) recently resolved an engine light problem that had been a stigma for 7 to 8 months - the work order remains open at this point in time. Will let you know what part was replaced once I have confirmed back to the dealership the engine light has not been back upon my return from Ottawa.

(b) an obvious clunck/pop noise at the back was first identified and then resolved by Franks auto garage in Guelph. Grand River could not identify it in the 30 minutes that they spent. I commend Franks to help me overcome a frustrating 4 week period.

(c) OK tire off Speedlawn in Guelph replaced both rear wheel bearings to my satisfaction at a decent price. BMW Grandriver correctly diagnosed the problem, but too expensive and I took it to OK (a lady technician by the way) which carried out the work to my satisfaction.

(d) OK recommended Auto Cool in Guelph for A/C recharge as it was noisy all the time. Excellent. All the stubborn hissing noises from the dashboard area have disappeared and the car has never been cooler! This was like a miracle.

3 OTTAWA

a. Once back in Ottawa, Frisby on Clyde/Merivale did the needful with Goodyear to have 4 Good Year Eagle RSA tires replaced with F1 Asymetric, as the RSA that were replaced just a year ago wore out quickly - they came with a different load rating (88V) and 10/32 than the original RSA (93V, 11/32) that when I bought it as certified some 5 years ago. Of course I had to pay a nominal sum for the replacement F1 but the deal from Goodyear was too good to turn down. My calling Goodyear and explaining the situation certainly helped. They were excellent, and Frisby's manager Sandro was attentive and negotiated on my behalf. Sandro has also been excellent in the past with tires for my Mazdas.

(b) Now I needed a wheel alignment after the new tires. Nothing available at both BMW delaserhips for 2 weeks, and I ended up at Canadain Tire on Carling after a recommendation from a non-BMW owner. The service manager - Tony - handed the car to a technician who races/owns a BMW. Bingo - the best alignment I'bve had on the car in the last 5 years of car ownership. I never fully was satisfied with Ottos work with regard to alignments - I think Elite was better in that area, although I will say Ottos looked after my car very well.

New here and looking for my first e30... I'm a moderator over on the yotatech toyota truck forum and know all about searching etc. lol... but I did'nt have time to wade through 19+ pages of post and was wondering if anyone had done biz with "Europa" a shop on Woodbine north of hwy 7?